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East Asia

East Asia. Communist bloc. Capitalist economy. N.Korea. Japan. S.Korea. China. Taiwan. Introduction. Cultural unity Legacy of Chinese civilization/Empire Confucianism, Chinese writing system Ideological division in the second half of 20 th century

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East Asia

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  1. East Asia

  2. Communist bloc Capitalist economy N.Korea Japan S.Korea China Taiwan

  3. Introduction • Cultural unity • Legacy of Chinese civilization/Empire • Confucianism, Chinese writing system • Ideological division in the second half of 20th century • Capitalist economy: Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong • Communist bloc: China, North Korea • Core areas of the world economy

  4. Environmental Geography Resource Pressures in a Crowded Land

  5. Insular belt: Mainland: geologically active geologically stable  Plate boundary

  6. Prone to earthquake, volcano 85% mountain Limited areas of alluvial plains Japan’s physical environment

  7. Rugged Central/Eastern region Alluvial West Taiwan’s environment Also prone to seismic activities

  8. flat rugged Huang He Loess Plateau North China Plain Sichuan Basin Yangtze R. Xi Basin Chinese environments

  9. Landscape regions of China      More accessible

  10. Mountainous North and East scattered alluvial basins in South and West Korean landscapes

  11. Temperate climates Humid summer Dry winter  monsoon Typhoon in the summer

  12. Three Gorges Dam Yangtze R. Three Gorges Dam • Benefits • Prevent flooding • Generate electricity • Costs • Jeopardize endangered species • Inundate a major scenic attraction • Displace inhabitants

  13. Huang He (Yellow River) Devastating flood Flooding in Northern China Loess Plateau North China Plain • Upstream erosion • sediment load accumulation • rise of lake level • flooding

  14. Pollution exporting • How do you think Japan’s environment is? • It’s relatively clean considering large pop and industrialization • Why? • Relocating dirtier factories in wealthier countries to poorer countries due to high cost of production and its strict environmental laws • As a result, pollution is displaced to poorer countries

  15. Population and Settlement A Realm of Crowded Lowland Basins

  16. East Asia, along with South Asia, is the most densely populated, and most populous region • High population density, but low natural growth • Low fertility in China  “one-child” policy • Population loss and aging in Japan

  17. Dense settlements in lowlands North China Plain Light inhabitation in uplands Sichuan Basin The lowlands in East Asia are among the most intensely used portions

  18. Arid climates Wheat, millet, sorghum Rice Abundant precipitation Agricultural regions in China

  19. Subterranean housing in Loess Plateau

  20. Settlement and agricultural patterns in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan • Highly urban • Among the most densely populated countries • Crowded into the alluvial plains or basins • Major food importers • Global resource procurement pattern • Japan is virtually self-sufficient in rice

  21. Settlement and agricultural patterns in China and North Korea • Relatively rural • These countries have long been self-sufficient in food, but recently • China is moving towards food imports due to the rapid industrialization

  22. Major cities in East Asia Seoul Tokyo Beijing Shanghai Taipei Hong Kong

  23. Major cities in East Asia • China • Shanghai: economic center • Beijing: political center • Seoul (South Korea), Taipei (Taiwan) • Characterized by urban primacy • Japanese cities • Characterized by superconurbation

  24. Superconurbation Urban concentration in Japan

  25. Cultural Coherence and Diversity A Confucian Realm?

  26. East Asia is one of the world’s more unified cultural regions • Ancient Chinese civilization in isolation from other civilizations • Writing systems • Chinese characters • Belief systems • Confucianism, Buddhism

  27. The Chinese writing system • Ideographic writing • Each symbol represents an idea rather than a sound • Chinese writing system spread when the Chinese Empire expanded • Korean modifications • Replaced by its own alphabetic system in 1400s • Japanese modifications • Chinese characters (kanji) mixed with hiragana, katakana

  28. 6c B.C. China Confucianism 6c B.C. India Buddhism 2c B.C. China Taoism Belief systems Korea, Japan Theravada: South, Southeast Asia Mahayana: China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam Shinto (Japan) 2c A.D. Zen Geomancy

  29. The Confucian legacy • Confucius’s philosophy aimed at generating social stability (6th century B.C.) • Deference for authority  authoritarian government • Emphasis on education (meritocracy)  advantage in competition in global economy • Confucianism in Japan was not as important as it was on the mainland

  30. Secularism in East Asia • East Asia is one of the most secular regions of the world • Confucianism as a philosophy rather than a faith • Mahayana Buddhism is nonexclusive • Most of Shinto-observing Japanese are not devout • Marxist orthodoxy in communist states

  31. The language geography of East Asia Japanese Korean Han Chinese who speak Mandarin Han Chinese who speak language closely related to Mandarin    • Austronesian • Taiwanese (Fujianese) • Mandarin  : Non-Han Chinese who speak distinct languages

  32. Geopolitical Framework The Imperial Legacies of China and Japan

  33. Centrality of China (until 1800s) • Japanese Empire (in the first half of 20th century) • Political split by Cold War rivalries (after WWII)

  34. The Evolution of China • For most of the past 2000 years, the Chinese Empire was Earth’s wealthiest and most powerful state 1800 B.C. Chinese civilization 200 B.C. The first political unification 1800s A.D. Decline in power • The Chinese Empire failed to keep pace with the technological progress of Europe in the 1800s

  35. The historical extent of China (200s B.C. ~ 1800s)

  36. China in the 1800s 1840s Opium Wars  Hong Kong ceded to British 1850s Northernmost Manchuria annexed to Russia 1900 China divided into “spheres of influence”: European power

  37. The Rise of Japan 1868 1895 1905 1910 1931 1941 1945 Sino-Japanese War Taiwan ceded to Japan Meiji Restoration Annexed Korea End of WWII Russo-Japanese War Attacked U.S. pacific fleet in Pearl Harbor Conquered Manchuria

  38. Postwar geopolitics • Division of Korea • 1945 ~ 1950 • North occupied by the Soviet Union; South occupied by U.S. • Korean War (1950~53) • Korea became a divided country with two governments • Division of China • Civil conflict between nationalists and communists ended with the Chinese Revolution (1949), forcing the nationalists to retreat to Taiwan

  39. Geopolitical issues in East Asia • Global • Cold War : communist bloc  capitalist economy • Korean DMZ, Taiwan-China tensions • End of Cold War: U.S.  China • Regional: Border dispute • China  India, Southeast Asia, Russia • Local: Autonomy in China • Autonomous regions in China (eg. Tibet, Xinjiang) • Former colonies returned to China (eg. Hong Kong, Macau)

  40. The demilitarized zone in Korea

  41. Geopolitical issues in East Asia

  42. Economic and Social Development An Emerging Core of the Global Economy

  43. The Japanese economic system • The newly industrialized countries • Chinese development

  44. Disparities between capitalist and communist bloc • Rapid economic growth in the second half of 20th century • Increasingly, East Asia function as a global economic core

  45. East Asia’s global ties Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea are highly integrated into global economic networks Guandong, and Shanghai are relatively well connected to the global economy while interior portions of China are isolated from the world economy

  46. Let’s compare the economic system of Japan to that of U.S. U.S. Japan • Role of private sector • Role of bureaucracy • Firms are significantly influenced by investors • Interconnection between a group of companies • Loose relationship between employers and employees • Tighter relationship between employers and employees • Flexibility • Stability

  47. Let’s compare the social system of Japan to that of U.S. U.S. Japan Low High Basic living cost Social condition Unemployment Crime rate Illiteracy rate Poverty level High High High High Low Low Low Low Civil liberties Work hour Short Long Discrimination Low High

  48. Newly industrialized countries: The Rise of South Korea • In the 1960s, government initiated a program of export-led economic growth • Government-business ties • Chaebol (large industrial conglomerates) • Economic transformation • inexpensive consumer goods  heavy industrial products  high-tech equipment • Economic development has been achieved at the expense of political and social development • Pressure for democratization in the late 1980s

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